US to offer $10 million for Information on Iranian CyberAv3ngers Hackers

The US has intensified its efforts to fight cyber threats by offering a immense reward for data leading to figuring out or finding folk infected about malicious cyber actions against U.S. serious infrastructure.

The dart comes as portion of a broader technique to counter cyber threats from foreign entities.

Reward for Justice Program

In line with the tweet from the U.S. Division of State’s Rewards for Justice program has announced a reward of as a lot as $10 million for data on folk acting below the route or control of a foreign executive, who participate in cyber actions that violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

This initiative underscores the U.S. executive’s dedication to safeguarding its serious infrastructure from cyber threats.

This reward makes a speciality of the CyberAv3ngers, a hacking community affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Progressive Guard Corps (IRGC). This community has been linked to cyberattacks concentrated on programmable logic controllers (PLCs) utilized in utterly different industries, including water and wastewater, vitality, and healthcare.

Key Figures and Sanctions

Numerous Iranian safety officers have been linked to those malicious actions. Amongst them is Hamid Reza Lashgarian, the head of the IRGC’s Cyber-Digital Repeat (IRGC-CEC), who furthermore serves as a commander in the IRGC-Qods Power.

The U.S. Division of the Treasury has sanctioned Lashgarian, along with Hamid Homayunfal, Mahdi Lashgarian, Milad Mansuri, Reza Mohammad Amin Siberian, and Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar.

These folk have been designated as Particularly Designated Nationals below Govt Interpret 13224, which targets leaders or officers of the IRGC-CEC for their involvement in cyber and intelligence operations.

In consequence, all property and interests in property of these folk within the United States are blocked, and U.S. persons are on the entire prohibited from participating in transactions with them.

CyberAv3ngers’ Activities

The CyberAv3ngers community has been packed with life in concentrated on Israeli-made PLCs, compromising their default credentials, and leaving spirited messages on the units.

In October 2023, they claimed accountability for cyberattacks against Israeli PLCs on their Telegram channel. Since November 2023, these actions have prolonged to the United States, where compromised units displayed messages equivalent to, “Which that you just need to need got been hacked, down with Israel.”

The U.S. executive’s response to those cyber threats highlights the rising significance of world cooperation and intelligence sharing in addressing cybersecurity challenges.

By offering financial incentives for data, the U.S. aims to disrupt the actions of these hacking groups and protect its serious infrastructure from further assaults.